Michigan Live has a decent Story on the ol\' R-Rated Video checkout debate. They do a good job covering both sides of the issue. Should libraries \"rent\" R-Rated videos to Kids? If they can\'t do it at Blockbuster why should they be able to do it at a library?

\"Libraries exist to provide a window to the world. How far open the window should be is a matter of debate -- and it\'s not a new one.\"

Steven Bell writes:Here is a story I think every
librarian should read on student use of the
Internet for research. It\'s at The NY TImes

This is an intersting story to say the least. Filled with
quotes to make a point, and few facts, the author leads
us to believe kids hate libraries. The \"card catalog\" is
cited as an example of how students are \" more
comfortable sifting through hyperlinks than they are
flipping through a card catalog. \" Don\'t most
schools use an OPAC now?

\"Sam still prefers doing research with his
Hewlett-Packard PC to looking up information at the
library. \"I\'d much rather be online,\" he said. The library,
he added, is \"a tenser atmosphere.\"

The Advocate has a nice Editorial on The Library of Congress. Remeber that report from The National Research Council that said the Library of Congress could turn into no more than a \"museum of books\" if it didn\'t take steps to apply its archival talents to the digital world? Well Jared Kendall say Pish Posh to that silly idea. He thinks LC would be better of putting the collection it has online, rather collecting what it online.

\"Reliability is what the Web needs more of, not storage space. The Library of Congress doesn\'t need the Web. The Web needs the Library of Congress. \"

Here\'s a great article from First Monday (A Peer Reviewed Internet Journal) on how libraries and librarians are dealing with all the XXX web sites.

\"This article examines the conflict that cyberporn raises between the mission of libraries, the rights of library patrons, and the law. In the first part of this essay, the terms \"pornography\", \"obscenity\", and \"child pornography\" are defined, followed by an exploration of the issues surrounding the availability of cyberporn on public accessible computers in libraries. The views of librarians on cyberporn are examined as well as legal and feminist perspectives.

According to this article from Denver Post, someone put a pipe bomb in a library book drop.\"On the sidewalk near the library\'s main doors, police found a message spray-painted in black: \"If you don\'t stop your harassment you will be murdered,\" Thomas said.\"

Here is an opinion piece from the Times on the British Library thowing out old newspapers.\"The past never passes. It simply amasses,\" wrote the American poet Brad Leithauser. Librarians should take this to heart, but the Board of the British Library has decided that it is time to take on the role of winnower and to dispense with part of the piled-up past.\"

Here is a cute article from the Columbus Dispatch. It shows a reference transaction of the future.\"Somewhere in the heart of Borneo in the year 2020: \"Hansen, I fear I\'ve been bitten by a snake. Any idea whether it\'s poisonous?\'\' Hansen snaps a digital photo of the snake as it slithers into the bush, then punches a number on his wireless phone. \"Good morning, Worthington Public Library information desk. How can I help you?\'\'

There are only two golf libraries in the country, and the Orange County Register has an article on one of them. A must read for golf enthusiasts. \"\"I really respect the game of golf,\" Sheffer said. \"There is something mystical about the game. There is really a passion about it.\" That admiration for the game is passed on to anyone who visits the library, which is about a sand wedge from one of two first tees at the 36-hole golf course.\"

According to this article in the Star Tribune, a library which can only hold 40 people at a time may take over the hospitality loungue of an old brewery complex.\"Imagine showing up at your public library and being told you can\'t go in. That happens sometimes at the Pierre Bottineau branch library in northeast Minneapolis. It\'s the city\'s smallest library.